Teaching Realities of Living Expense

Recently a mother posted on FB that her 5-year old receives $7 a week in allowance and the daughter then has to give her $5 dollars back ($1 for rent $1 for water $1 for electricity $1 for cable, $1 for food, and $2 the daughter keeps to spend or save). This posting has created quite a stir with adamant support and just as strong non-support. So I ask you to weigh in by commenting below after viewing our discussion on Atl & Co’s Real Talk  Real Talk: Kids paying rent 1/23/18

As for my thoughts beyond what was stated on TV … I’d still like to know if the child has “earned” or was “given” the allowance. If the child isn’t earning the money, the lesson of having to pay living expenses doesn’t have the same impact. I also really like the idea that the daughter got to keep $2. You can learn a lot of things about your kids watching their behavior with money. When my daughter was little, she paid her brother $1 for a piece of paper. Having money wasn’t nearly as important as having that piece of paper with Winnie the Pooh printed on it. She has always been generous (sometimes to a fault) and goes after what she wants (regardless of the cost). I’ll let you decide what taking $1 from his little sister told me about my son-LOL.

Additionally, kids today learn at a very young age about gift cards and credit cards from watching adults use them. So, why not teach about earning money and paying expenses related to living. Kids are so sharp today. My 4-year old great niece was thrilled when she discovered her Chick-fil-a gift card in her Christmas present. Immediately she started waving it around saying, “Mama! Look! We get to go get nuggets!” All she needed to see was the size of that plastic card and the logo and she was able to transfer her previous learning to a trip to her favorite restaurant. Impressive and cute!

In conclusion, I think teaching the realities of living expenses can start at any age … just so it is learned before adulthood. Form your own opinion and share it with me and others by commenting.

Make the most of your day!

Follow me at: Twitter   Pinterest  Facebook

 

1 thought on “Teaching Realities of Living Expense”

Leave a Reply to catalog Cancel reply